A HEART SO HOLLOW
by BluestBunnie
Summary: Something devastating happens in Ichigo's life that causes him to submit to his inner Hollow. What measures will Rukia take to save her best friend and how will it effect their blossoming love for one another? IchiRuki
1. Rukia Returns & Ichigo's Lost Resolve

This story is based after Ichigo returns from saving Rukia during the SS arch and meeting the Vizards.

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><p><strong>A HEART SO HOLLOW<strong>

**CHAPTER 1** –_ Rukia Returns & Ichigo's Lost Resolve _

It was a mellow day, the sun half hidden behind white fluffy clouds. The sky was a crystal blue, pristine and crisp. A calming breeze teased the trees producing a sound similar to waves brushing up against a sandy beach. Ichigo felt relaxed and content as he jogged down the streets of his neighborhood. The wind blew his bangs gently off his forehead with each step he took keeping him from becoming overheated. The air felt pure and clean as he took it in through his nostrils and carried it into his lungs. It reminded him how fresh the air seemed to be in Soul Society, which reminded him of Rukia…. How long had it been since he'd seen her? He shook the thought from his mind and continued jogging onward.

The narrow streets were tranquil and quite, the sunlight bounced off trees and buildings casting shadows on the concrete road and cracked side walks. Occasionally he would hear birds sing and chirp at each other, or the sound of charms jiggling in the wind. He'd jog by neighbors lazily placed outside their homes in comfortable lawn chairs with cold tea and radios turned down low.

It truly was a peaceful day in Karakurachou Town. While he appreciated that his life was somewhat back to normal now, his heart yearned for the excitement of a Shinigami's life.

His mind pondered as he approached his house. Stopping to take a few breaths he looked up at his bedroom window. Without realizing it he smiled thinking back to all the times Rukia had jumped out of it.

Ichigo wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm and kicked off his shoes after entering his home. It was quite and empty in the Kurosaki household, no patients in the clinic and his father and sisters were out on the town shopping. The air conditioning was off but it still felt cool and cozy, it wasn't hot enough outside to bother turning it on. The window in the kitchen was open, the blinds slightly open. The sun gave light to the whole house giving Ichigo no reason to bother turning on the lights.

He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water drinking the whole thing with one gulp. He tossed the empty bottle into the trash and made his way upstairs to his bathroom for a much needed shower.

He tripped over a manga and a pair of shoes lying in the middle of his floor. There were clothes scattered around his room and balled up homework that was never finished overflowing out of his trash can. His guitar was half off the stand, the cord wrapped around the chair at his desk. Pencils and pens were scattered all over his desk, his comforter and sheets were in a ruffled mess on his bed.

Usually he kept his room pretty clean, but he was so busy lately and he was running out of places to put things. Normally he would just push everything into his closet but since Rukia had been living in there his stuff slowly began to pile up outside the closet. Even though Rukia had been gone for about 4 months now he still kept the closet the way she left it. A blanket and pillow, a set of one of sister's pajamas (how she got those he didn't know) his favorite manga that he had been looking all over for, and a single Chappy earring that must of gotten left behind. Much to Ichigo's surprise she had a photo of her and him wrestling in the grass at the park pinned to the closet wall. You could see a few strands of orange hair in the corner of the picture so Inoue must have been the one to have taken the photo. He remembered that day like it was only yesterday. It was right before Rukia was kidnapped and taken to Soul Society. Rukia, Chad, Inoue, Ishida and he had all gone to the park for a picnic, Inoue's idea. He had been throwing peanuts at Rukia when she wasn't looking but after about the tenth peanut hit her head she found out it was him and wrestled him to the ground. He smiled nostalgically as he remembered it.

He walked over to his closet and opened the door. Her scent was still there but he noticed it fading more and more each day. Occasionally he would find himself opening up the sliding door hoping to find her there reading a manga, doodling that dumb bunny in one of his notebooks, or sleeping with an angelic look on her face. He didn't like to admit it, but he missed her staying in his room. He never imagined he'd enjoy sharing his room with anyone, especially someone as stubborn as her but now that she was gone he felt like something important was missing from his life.

He missed her violent yet playful behavior; he missed her wide violet-blue eyes and boyish attitude. Hell, he hated to admit it but Ichigo missed everything about her. His fists balled and his knuckles turned white, he had this awful feeling of emptiness when he thought about her not returning from Soul Society with him. Feeling so hopeless made him angrier at himself and he just wanted to punch something. It puzzled him as to why he felt so despaired, which only seemed to anger him more.

He kicked some things out of the way and pulled off his shirt throwing it in the overflowing clothes hamper by his door. Walking into his bathroom he groaned as he noticed there were no clean towels. He walked back into his room and scanned it looking for anything clean to dry off with. Sure he could just go downstairs and get a clean one, but that took effort and right now he just wanted to relax in the shower. He eyeballed a small blanket twisted all around in his comforter and figured he would use that. He reached out and pulled at it but it wouldn't untangle, pulling harder and harder and even wiggling it around aggressively it still wouldn't budge.

He growled and jumped on the bed in frustration but slipped backwards and landed on something solid and warm. His eyes got wide and he froze completely in shock wondering what the hell was underneath him. Suddenly, whatever it was beneath him began to move. He quickly jumped off it and stood in a fighting stance ready to attack the intruder. He watched and waited as whatever was in his bed struggled to get out from under the comforter. Starting to get irritated he dropped his guard and walked closer to the bed pulling the comforter back. What he saw was a totally surprise, his eyes got wide and his jaw dropped. He steeped back in sheer shock while taking in vibrant violet eyes and black hair.

"R-Rukia?" He stuttered and blinked a couple times.

"No swilly!" Rukia's Gigai remarked pushing herself up and out of the comforter.

"Wha?" Ichigo's shocked expression was sure enough changing back into a scowl. He knew it was Rukia's Chappy Gigai as soon as she spoke with that annoying accent.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where is Rukia?"

"Gee what a tewmper! Rukia left and told me to twell you she'll come by here later," Chappy Rukia said patting down her hair and adjusting her clothes.

"Get out of my bed," Ichigo reached for Chappy Rukia's arm but she dodged and leaned down biting him directly above the wrist.

"Gah, let go you midget!" He shook his arm violently hoping she would release her sharp teeth from his hand. Finally she let go and Ichigo scowled at her while cradling his arm.

"Where is she?" he demanded in a serious tone.

"Maybe I should twell him… he sounds pwetty mad," the Gigai thought out loud while twirling her hair with her finger.

"Damn right I'm mad!" Ichigo hollered.

"Kay! Follow me Ichigooo," She hopped off of the bed and out the window. Ichigo shook is head, a little disturbed by how she said his name, and followed her.

ONE HOUR LATER

"Are you sure you know where she is?" Ichigo huffed following the small framed Gigai.

"Ummm…" She stopped and held in her pointer finger up to her bottom lip quizitively.

"I don't understand why I can't pick up her reiatsu," Ichigo pondered aloud.

"Dwere!" the Chappy Gigai grabbed Ichigo's hand and led him into an abandoned building.

It looked very familiar inside, and soon Ichigo recognized it to be the same warehouse where the Vizards had trained him in his Hollow form only weeks ago. Both the Gigai and him stood alert as they heard arguing coming from deeper inside the building.

"Tell me how! I'm tired of being patient…" Rukia hollered, her hand grasped tightly to the hilt of her sword.

"Clam down, clam down, I'm trying to explain to you that it's not that simple!" Shinji exasperated.

The headstrong Hiyori circled Rukia as if she was prey while cursing her for intruding.

"Why you pesky bitch!" Hiyori launched for an attack but was stopped by Kensei who held her back. Rukia completely ignored the short blonde girl, causing Hiyori to become even angrier as she wiggled in Kensei's grasp.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called to her as he rose from the shadows.

"Ichi…go…" Rukia turned to him, almost in slow motion it seemed. She was shocked and happy to see her friend after being separated from him for so long. Seeing his face pulled at her heart stringed and she wanted ever so badly to tackle him with an embrace, but she knew now wasn't the time. The two locked eyes and their expressions softened as they gazed into each other's faces. Rukia noticed how Ichigo had aged while she was gone, he looked worn down somehow.

"How rowmantic!" the Chappy Gigai interrupted.

Ichigo and Rukia hastily looked away from each other and at the floor with red faces.

"Ichigo! Is this your feisty broad?" Shinji waved to the orange head while keeping his other hand in his pocket.

"Yeah, she's quite the babe!" Kensei added.

"Broad! Babe!" Rukia glared at Shinji with her fierce blue eyes and slightly blushed at Kensei's remark.

Ichigo laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He hurried to Rukia's side and placed his hand on her shoulder. She broke her stare with Shinji and looked up at him vigilantly.

"What are you doing here Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked down a bit embarrassed, an emotion she wasn't used to feeling.

"I…well, I wanted to find out how to help you control…your Hollow inside," she paused while keeping her eyes to the floor, unable to meet his face, "I had a horrible vision in a dream last night about your Hollow form…"

"You had a dream about me?" Ichigo was surprised to hear this but his expression changed sorrowfully.

"There is nothing you can do to help me…"

"What is wrong with you Ichigo? When did you become a man with no resolve?" Rukia asked firmly as she broadened her shoulders and got in his face.

This caught Shinji and the other Vizards in the room attention. Ichigo backed away from Rukia, speechless and taken back by her change of attitude and tone of voice.

"It is frightening to lose? Not being able to protect your friends? Or are you reluctant to face the hollow inside!"

Ichigo's eyes widened as she hit the nail on the head. He was unsure of how to respond to her and his eyes darted to the floor in shame.

Closing her eyes Rukia took a breath to calm herself before finishing what she had to say.

"If you are afraid of being defeated, just get stronger! If you are afraid of loosing your friends, swear to yourself that will become stronger to protect them," the pitch in her voice rose, "If you are afraid of the Hollow inside you…Just get stronger until you can crush him! That's the kind of man you've always been, in my heart ICHIGO!" She yelled the last part, clutching her hand tightly onto her blouse above her heart.

Shinji, Chappy Gigai, and the other Vizards stood in awe from Rukia's heartfelt speech. Ichigo's felt a surge of confidence and his heart beat quickened. How did she manage to make his heart skip this way? He was grateful for how she always motivated him with her passionate words; he had such great respect for the small woman before him.

Ichigo grabbed his Zanpakuto and pointed it towards Shinji, "Please continue to teach me how to control my inner hollow."

"O-oh okay!" Shinji said startled by Ichigo's new resolve. The last training session they had did not go so well with Ichigo becoming flustered and leaving to 'deal with it on his own'. Rukia smirked and folded her arms, proud of her friend for facing his problems head on.

Hiyori lost interest and spat on the ground as she walked off towards the back of the room with her companions. Rukia leaned up against the wall and observed closely as Shinji and the other Vizards explained to Ichigo the next steps in controlling his inner Hollow. She had decided to learn everything she could about it, in case she may be able to help Ichigo in anyway. She certainly did not want what happened in her dream to come true, she shuddered at the thought.


	2. A Hollow with Murderous Intent

Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please let me know what you do and do not like about it in a review so I can improve my writing ^_^ Thanks!

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><p><strong>A HEART SO HOLLOW<strong>

**CHAPTER 2**– A Hollow with Murderous Intent

"Ichigo! Ichigo, wake up!" Rukia shook the sleeping blonde boy's shoulders in an attempt to wake him.

She admired his unclothed chest and the warmth of his skin beneath her hands. She made note of how well his body had filled out since the last time she saw him without a shirt on. She would never admit it to anyone, and if Ichigo ever found she would probably kill herself, but the night before she left for Soul Society she slowly slid the closet door ajar and watched him sleep. She felt at ease watching his chest rise and fall. Occasionally his facial expression would change and she would smile, pondering what he was dreaming about.

Happy to be back in his room and once again watching him soundly sleep she found herself questioning what this stubborn, short-tempered, impulsive, strong-willed, handsome boy meant to her… Was he only a friend? Did she have deeper feelings for him? She was struck with a vision of Kaien and her heart throbbed. She had resigned herself to be alone long ago; the one man she had ever loved was married and died at her own hands. She didn't deserve to think of Ichigo, or any man, in that manner. At least that is what she told herself. Her captain had explained to her how unhealthy it was to think that way, and how Kaien would not want him to hinder her chances at love. Deep in her heart she knew he was right, and that she was probably using it as an excuse not to get closer to Ichigo, but it was still hard to think otherwise. Besides, what if her feelings for the orange haired substitute Shinigami did turn out to be love? Would he return those feelings? She couldn't picture Ichigo being lovey-dovey with her. She felt silly thinking about it.

She groaned and rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe she was thinking about…love… at a time like this. A Hollow had appeared in town and she had no time to waste.

"Uhhhh…" Ichigo moaned and rolled to his side.

"Iiiiiii…ccchhiiiiii…goooooooo," Rukia strained as she pulled at his arm to roll him back over towards her.

She used more force then she thought and his heavy body tumbled off of the bed on top of her. His weight pinned her to the floor crushing her, and she hit her head against the floor with a loud thud.

"What the hell!" Ichigo awoke and immediately sat up.

When he realized he was on top of Rukia he quickly jumped off, kneeled down and grabbed her by the waist, lifted her off the floor and spun her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.

"You okay?" There was a hint of concern in his voice as he examined her body to make sure all was right.

Sometimes he forgot that she wasn't as fragile as she looked - he knew this from sparring with her. Not to mention all the times she had punched, tackled, kicked, and nudged him.

_She is an aggressive little she-devil_he thought to himself.

"Ow…" She rubbed her head dizzily and impressed by how effortless he had lifted her.

Despite her small frame she was considerably heavy; Ichigo actually made that comment to her quite often.

"How did we end up like that?" He asked, his cheeks turning a bit pink thinking of the position they were just in. He wondered if he would ever be comfortable around the female body.

"I was trying to..." Rukia paused and looked down at his arm still tightly wrapped around her waist.

She didn't mind it being there, it felt kind of comforting actually, but there were boundaries. She slowly looked up and gave Ichigo an awkward grin as a cue to let go, which he hastily did. If he had held on even a second longer he knew she would have punched him. The two took a moment to compose themselves.

"I know you're tried from all the training, but….." she stopped herself once again as she noticed dark circles under his eyes.

She wanted to scold him for neglecting his Shinigami duties but she didn't have the heart. He had been working so diligently with the Vizards the past two weeks and was clearly exhausted. It didn't help their moral that he was still no closer to controlling his inner Hollow.

She decided there was no need to keep him from sleep and that she could handle this Hollow on her own. Her phone buzzed, vibrating in the pocket of her black Shinigami kimono reminding her of the nearby Hollow presence.

"I have to step out for a while, leave your window unlocked," she stated brushing by him towards the window above his bed.

She knew if she told him about the Hollow he would insist on accompanying her. He was a very protective person, she appreciated and admired that quality about him, but sometimes it concerned her and even angered her at times. Whenever she would get onto him about being more considerate of his own body and to stop taking blows for her he would turn the argument around and say the same about her. Which was true, they were both stubborn and put their lives on the line for others; which was why they made great Shinigami.

"Yeah, whatever," he yawned and laid back down on his bed.

He didn't understand why she would go through the trouble to wake up him up just to tell him that- he never locked his window. If he had actually thought about it he would have known something wasn't right, however, lack of sleep can bog one's thinking. He quickly put the thought out of his mind and sunk deep into his comforter, pleased to be back in his bed against the chilled sheets.

As Ichigo drifted into slumber he thought back to when his little sisters would barge into his room early in the morning. Just to torment him they would jump on his bed until he could no longer stand it and chase them around the house until they toppled over in fits of giggles. Those days it used to annoy him like nothing else, but thinking back on it now he missed it. His sisters had matured so much while he was off in Soul Society that when he returned he could barely recognize them, especially Karin. She didn't appear to want much to do with him at all anymore, although it's not like she had much interest to begin with. Yuzu would still bring tea to his room after school and ask him how his day went, something that he missed tremendously during the harsh days in Soul Society.

He recalled waking up on the hard ground of their hideout in Soul Society just aching for his little blonde sister to bring him her homemade tea. He truly missed his home and family while on his mission to save Rukia. He simply could not imagine being away from his family for any longer then that ever again. At least being able to hear their voices would have made it easier but that wasn't possible in another world. One would not take Ichigo as a family man by the scowl on his face, but they meant more than anything to him, even his obnoxious father. Ever since his mother had passed he felt an uncontrollable need to protect and be near his precious family.

Remembering those times and recalling how much he had missed his sisters Ichigo wondered into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile in the dark of night Rukia quickly skipped from one rooftop to another towards the direction of the Hollow. She felt a bit uneasy by how oddly silent it was outside, like the calm before a storm. Before being dragged to Soul Society with her brother and Renji, Ichigo had been by her side during every Hollow hunt. She had to admit she was a bit lonely; she dreaded the thought that she had become dependant on the spiky haired boy.

The Hollow tracking GPS on her phone led her to an empty park. Street lights shined down upon a swing set and sandbox while darkness surrounded the rest of the play ground. It was quite eerie and chills arose throughout Rukia's body when she noticed a man crouched down behind a springy sea horse rocking ride.

"H- hey what are you doing over there?" Rukia called out to him in a stern yet nervous voice.

The man abruptly looked up and starred her straight in the eyes. This startled Rukia and she took a step back unable to break eye contact with the man's dark eyes. For a second she though him to be the Hollow in a human form and reached for the hilt of her Sode no Shirayuki when she felt the pressure of Hollow reiatsu behind her. She turned, drew her divine Zanpakuto, and faced the Hollow head on.

The Hollow was thin and towered over Rukia. It had only half a Hollow mask riddled with subtle cracks; its right side revealed the face of a ghostly woman. It said and did nothing as it hovered in front of Rukia, tears streaming down its unmasked side. It reminded Rukia of the time when Inoue's brother became a Hollow, and how difficult it was for Ichigo to defeat a Hollow that resembled a human. Having a similar experience with Kaien, Rukia fully understood how painful it was. Her heart ached as memories of Kaien's Hollowfied face and death flooded her mind. Hollows like this were never easy to fight.

She put aside the pang of pity for whoever this woman was before the Hollowifcation set in and prepared her battle stance.

"No!" The man behind her growled, once again sending chills throughout Rukia's body. For this man to have spooked her twice and to be able to see her Shinigami form she knew something wasn't normal about him.

"I must," Rukia responded sorrowfully and lifted her snow white sword to slice down the Hollow before her.

"NO!" The man angrily yelled and before Rukia could drive her blade into the Hollow he was directly behind her.

Completely shocked by how quickly he'd snuck up behind her she turned to him, once again becoming trapped in his fierce gaze, it almost made her tremble; everything about this man reeked of evil.

"This monster is my wife to play with, and I will _murder_ anyone who tries to interfere," the man said confidently, the blank look in his eyes bewildering.

The way he used the word _murder_made Rukia's stomach sink, and the immediate thought that came to her mind was that this man had killed his wife, and even in death he was still tormenting her. She could tell he was slowly becoming a Hollow himself even though she could see no chain of fate. She attempted to back away from him but something tugged at her stomach and kept her from moving. Confusion as to why she couldn't move quickly became fear as she dreadfully looked down at her stomach. Her eyes widened and mouth opened in awe at the sight before her.

She dropped her sword and shakily brought her hands around the bandaged hilt of the dagger the man had sunk into her stomach. She gasped as her body shivered in fear; her sapphire eyes filled with horror.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispered her friend's name in desperation.

The man smirked and pushed forward, impaling the dagger even deeper within Rukia's valuable insides. She winched in pain and fell to her knees, the dagger still in the man's grasp, slide out of her body as she descended, leaving her with an open wound.

Only being able to support her weight on her knees for a short while Rukia lost her balance and toppled over backwards, impacting the ground hard. Her petite body shook from the brunt force of the land and she gasped from the sharp pain invading her being. As the distress and utter shock of what just happened left her she began to feel a severe burning sensation pulse throughout her body. The air tickled at the open wound next to her belly button. Blood slowly seeped from the laceration drenching her raven kimono and trickled down her side into the grass beneath her.

The man turned his attention to the anguished Hollow, licking his lips he reached out to take a hold of it. Rukia wondered what his intentions were, eventually the woman would fully Hollowify and take his life.

"Way of Binding…. Number 4: Crawling Rope," Rukia chanted binding the man with the last bit of her power.

It took all of her strength to maintain the low level kido spell and she slowly began to fade in and out of consciousness. A spilt second before her eyes shut she a blur of orange and black appeared before her.

"Ichi…go?" She pitifully muttered.

She watched in a haze as he instantly slashed through the Hollow, defeating it. Ichigo's reiatsu was so angry and powerful it almost caused Rukia to faint from the tension of it – which in turn broke her kido spell on the woman-killer. She struggled immensely to stay alert and watch over the battle.

The killer went berserk pulling up the grass and rocking back and worth, all while screaming at the top of his lungs and wickedly staring Ichigo down. Ichigo remained clam and slung his Zanpakuto over his shoulder, there was nothing he could do with his Shinigami powers to stop this man who was yet a Hollow. However, his human self, and perhaps the Hollow part as well, charged forward and punched the man in gut. The man dropped the knife and fell onto his side fighting for air, his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out. Ichigo picked up the knife and the Hollow inside him wanted nothing more but to slit the man's throat. Beginning to lose control of himself Ichigo leaned closer towards the man, the knife gleaming in his hand.

"No, Ichigo…" Rukia sputtered while holding tightly onto her wound to stop the bleeding.

Sweat beaded at her pale forehead and she winched from the pain shooting through out her body. Ichigo's expression changed from wild to desperate and the knife slid from his hands hitting the ground with a clank.

"Rukia…" He almost whimpered looking over at his injured friend.

How could he have been so determined to hurt this man that he forgot about his friend who was in dire need of medical attention? He had almost lost her months ago in Soul Society; to loose her now would be unacceptable. He felt ashamed, but also relieved that she stopped him. He did not want to take this man's life, no matter what he had done to his wife and Rukia. At least Ichigo's humanity did not want too – the Hollow festering in his heart had different feelings about it.

Ichigo leaned down to Rukia's level and took her in his arms. She looked up at him in relief, her heart gladdened that he did not kill, and lost consciousness. Her body went completely limp and he tried his best to stay clam but his eyes, full of frantic and fear, gave him away. He reached into the pocket of Rukia's kimono for her cell phone and speed dialed Inoue.

As the phone rang he heard a chipper melody in the distance. After a few rings he noticed it was getting closer, and soon he saw shades of white and pink headed towards his direction.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue came running towards them out of the darkness, with Ishida following behind.

The melody he had been hearing was Inoue's cell phone ring.

"We felt Rukia's reiatsu drop considerably and came as quickly as we could!"

She stopped in her tracks when she was the position Rukia was in. She had healed Rukia in worst conditions before, she would never get used to seeing her friends injured.

"Oh no, Rukia!" She cried running over to her friend and surrounded her in a golden healing orb, Soten Kisshun.

Ishida made his way over to Rukia's attacker.

"What happened?" He asked Ichigo while leaning over the man and examining him.

Just as soon as Ishida took his eyes off the man he awoke and grabbed the Quincy by his leg, tripped him backwards. Before he knew it the crazed man had him pinned, tightly grasping a hold of shirt collar in one hand and reaching out towards the knife with the other.

"Ishida!" Inoue cried out to him and looked to Ichigo for help.

He was already prepared to step in and carefully sat Rukia down, "don't worry Inoue, just focus on her and I'll help Ishida."

"_I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU SHINIGAMI!" _The man wailed at Ichigo, spit flew from his mouth and his eyes bugged out of his head. He resembled a dog mad with rabies.

Ishida struggled under the man's weight and his blood soaked hands found their way around Ishida's neck as he proceeded to choke him. Ishida was amazed by how the man's strength seemed to increase with each second. All of the sudden a black hole formed in the middle of his chest, and there appeared his chain of fate crumbling away before it ever appeared. The man would not be human for much longer.

"I will hunt you down, I will wear your blood," he hissed through his teeth, "I will ruin everything you hold dear."

Ichigo had already deemed the man as completely insane and ignore his threats, although it did make him a little uneasy.

Ishida managed to free his arm from under the man and he grabbed a hold of his hair pulling him back away from his as hard as he could, ripping hair as he did. This caused the killer's grip to loosen around Ishida's neck and the Quincy quickly escaped from under him.

"You are mad!" Ishida proclaimed as he caught his breath and prepared his arrow. He was completely a taken back by what had just happened and surprised by the crazy man's speed.

Ichigo charged towards the man, his fist burning to make contact with the low-life's face when suddenly a black tacky mass began to devour the man before them. It smelled like tar and leaked from the hole in his chest, become tacky as it touched the air. It rejected itself from the hole in his chest and proceeding to wrap around the rest of his body. The way it lashed out onto him resembled that of a snake attacking a rodent. Whatever this black mass was inside him was engulfing him and Ichigo and Ishida took this opportunity to attack.

"Now!"

The exact moment Ichigo's fist landed on what he assumed was the man's face, Ishida's blue arrow shot through the killer's lower body. The black mass combusted and splattered onto the ground, then slithered into the dirt like water down a drain.

"What the hell was that?" Ishida looked to Ichigo, back at the ground, and then to Ichigo in disbelief.

He had never in his life seen something as bizarre as this.

"Like I know!" Ichigo answered defensively and made his way towards Inoue and Rukia.

Ichigo seemed more flustered than anything.

"Well it seems to me like he's got some kind of grudge against you," Ishida stated while following behind.

"All I did was cut down the Hollow like I do every time. I agree it's bizarre but more importantly he's gone now we need to get Rukia healed."

Ichigo reached his hand out to lift the torn fabric of Rukia's kimono, his hand tingled from coming in contact with Inoue's Soten Kisshun. Her wound appeared to be healing nicely; he let a sigh of relief and looked to Inoue thankfully.

Once Inoue felt Rukia could recuperate on her own she and Ishida headed back to their homes with promises to come check on Rukia the next day with Chad in tow.

It was early morning now and gray light descended upon the empty park and dew formed on the grass. Ichigo stayed seated on the ground with Rukia unconscious in his arms.

"What am I going to do with you? You just came back to me and already this…." He sighed cocking his head and laying his cheek against his hand.

As he watched her sleep his scowl became a smile.


End file.
